The Official Site of Landon Donovan

Sun, Jul 4th 2010, 09:33

Landon set to make his Galaxy return tonight

After a whirlwind month in South Africa that saw him lead his team into the World Cup Round of 16 and return home a bona fide star, Donovan was understandably exhausted.

Donovan returned to training with the Los Angeles Galaxy Friday, but did not participate in the entire session. Just six days removed from an agonizing World Cup exit, though, Donovan said he was not going to use his physical condition as an excuse or a crutch ahead of Sunday’s match against Seattle.

“Physically, from a sleep standpoint, I’m a little tired and worn out. Physically from a body standpoint, I played the last stretch of the World Cup with a strained hamstring so I need to rest that,” Donovan said in a press conference on Friday. “Emotionally, I’m actually pretty excited about this game.”

In the second half of the Slovenia match on June 18, Donovan picked up a hamstring issue that continues to linger. While it did not affect his status against Ghana – he played against the Africans and, according to FIFA, ran 15,184 meters or 9.44 miles while doing so – Donovan may rest against Seattle.

But if he does sit, his injury or physical condition won’t be a way for him to sidestep any responsibility.

“For me this is now another opportunity to grow and to become better,” Donovan said. “The easy way out would be to say, ‘I’m tired. I’m drained. I’m not ready. I’m worn out.’ I’m going to use this as an opportunity to perform really well on Sunday.”

Donovan scored three goals in South Africa as the US won a World Cup group for the first time. That has apparently drawn interest from abroad, as Manchester City is at least one club rumored to be interested in Donovan.

But Donovan said he is just glad to return to Southern California and being back with his team.

“Right now I want to be in America. I absolutely love being here and I loved getting back to my teammates (Friday),” he said. “As you know, I never say never to anything. Right now, rumors are rumors and if there is something serious to look at I will, but for now I’m very excited to be home.”

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